Soccer Worldcup 2014 Stadiums

1. Maranaca Stadium

The Estádio do Maracanã is an open-air stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Owned by the Rio de Janeiro State Government, it is named after the Maracanã neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. It was opened in 1950 to host the FIFA World Cup, and in the final game Brazil was beaten 2-1 by Uruguay. Since then, it has mainly been used for football matches between the major football clubs in Rio de Janeiro, including Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama.

Although the paid attendance at the final game of the 1950 FIFA World Cup was 199,854, the stadium currently seats 82,238 spectators. It was the main venue of the 2007 Pan American Games, hosting the football final, and the opening and closing ceremonies.
The Maracanã is currently closed for renovations and upgrades, and will reach a total capacity of around 85,000 spectators in preparations for the 2014 World Cup.

Maracana is also the worlds greatest playground for world famous soccer stars such as Ronaldo, Romario, Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, Carlos Alberto, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Falcao, Junior, Pele, Rivaldo, Rivelino, Romario, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Djalma Santos, Nilton Santos, Socrates, Zico and the list goes on...

2. Mineirao Stadium

Mineirão, officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto established in 1965 in Belo Horizonte, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the second largest in the country, after Maracanã. It will be a host stadium in the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in the country.

The largest attendance of the Stadium was 132,834 people in 1997 in the match between Cruzeiro and Villa Nova in the final match of the state league. In this match, women and children did not pay, as was usual on that time for games played on the stadium. The paying attendance was 74,857, and there were 56,618 women and children who entered for free. For safety reasons the capacity of Mineirão had been reduced for the majority of its 40 years of history. In 2004, by imposition of FIFA, the capacity of the stadium was reduced to 72,000 people.

For safety reasons the capacity of Mineirão had been reduced for the majority of its 40 years of history. In 2004, by imposition of FIFA, the capacity of the stadium was reduced to 72,000 people.

3. New Corinthians Stadium

The Brazilian Football Confederation has announced that Corinthians as yet unbuilt stadium will host the opening match of the 2014 World Cup and will replace the City owned Pacaembu Stadium as the home stadium of Corinthians. The project was first announced on August 27, 2010, by president of CBF Ricardo Teixeira, the governor of São Paulo, Alberto Goldman and the mayor of São Paulo Gilberto Kassab, with a planned opening date of 2013. The stadium is intended to have a capacity of 65,281 spectators, and should hold the opening ceremony for 2014 FIFA World Cup.

4. Castelão Stadium or Gigante da Boa Vista

The Estádio Plácido Aderaldo Castelo, also known as the Castelão or Gigante da Boa Vista, is a football stadium that was inaugurated on November 11, 1973 in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, with a maximum capacity of 60,326 people.

The stadium is owned by the Ceará state Government, and is the home ground of Ceará Sporting Club and Fortaleza Esporte Clube. Its formal name honours Plácido Aderaldo Castelo, who served as the Governor of Ceará from September 12, 1966 to March 15, 1971, and was the stadium construction idealiser.

Castelão is one of the venues of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Brazil. After the redevelopment, the stadium will have a new all-seater capacity of 66.700.

5. Estádio Fonte Nova

The Estádio Fonte Nova, also known as Estádio Octávio Mangabeira, was a football stadium inaugurated on January 28, 1951 in Salvador, Bahia, with a maximum capacity of 66,080 people. The stadium was owned by the Bahia government, and was the home ground of Esporte Clube Bahia and Esporte Clube Vitória. Its formal name honors Octávio Cavalcanti Mangabeira, a civil engineer, journalist, and former Bahia state governor from 1947 to 1954.

After part of the upper terraces collapsed, killing 7 people and injuring several others, the government of Bahia announced the demolition of Fonte Nova and the construction of a new stadium, the Arena da Bahia, in the same place.
The stadium was nicknamed Fonte Nova because it was located at Ladeira das Fontes das Pedras.

6. The Estádio Beira-Rio Stadium

Estádio Beira-Rio, officially Estádio José Pinheiro Borda, is a football stadium located on the Rio Guaíba shoreline in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It serves as the home stadium of Sport Club Internacional. It is named after José Pinheiro Borda – an ageing Portuguese engineer who supervised the building of the stadium for many years, thus becoming the biggest accomplisher of his own dream. Unfortunately, he died before seeing its completion. The stadium is nicknamed Beira-Rio (literally:river bank) because it is located along the margins of Rio Guaíba.

The stadium is about to undergo restoration and developments that would make it fit to host matches during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Internacional has a project of restoration and improvement of Beira-Rio complex named 'Gigante Para Sempre'(Giant Forever). The stadium will be adapted to an international standard, ready to host any national or international game.

7. The Governador José Fragelli or Verdão

Estádio Governador José Fragelli, usually known as Verdão, is a multi-purpose stadium in Cuiabá, Brazil. The current stadium, used mostly for football matches, holds 47,000 and was built in 1976. Sometime before 2014, it will be replaced by a new stadium in the city, seating about 40,000, that will be used for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The state government planned to invest $250 million to build a new stadium in the place of Verdão. Cuiabá was announced as one of the 12 host cities on May 31, 2009. The new stadium is planned to be a 40,000 all-seater and will include other projects such as a shopping mall and a convention center. To construct the new stadium will be an investment for $ 450 million by the state government of Mato Grosso. The lawn will have dimension of 70x110.

The stadium is apparently under demolition currently to make space for the new stadium. Demolition started on April 26, 2010 and is expected to be finished in less than 3 months.

8. Arena Cidade da Copa Recife Stadium

Arena Cidade da Copa is a new multi-use stadium in Recife, Brazil, that is currently in the planning stages. Once completed, it will be used mostly for football matches and will be used to host matches during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The stadium will have a capacity of 46,160 people.

9. Estádio Nacional de Brasília

Estádio Nacional de Brasília (formerly known as Estádio Mané Garrincha) is a multi-purpose stadium in Brasilia, Brazil. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 45,200. The stadium was built in 1974. Estádio Mané Garrincha is owned by the Department of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation of Distrito Federal. The former name is taken after the footballer Mané Garrincha.

There are plans on reconstructing the stadium to increase its capacity to 71,000 as well as to reach the requirements for the 2014 World Cup, which will be held in Brazil. The stadium was renamed in early 2010 to the Estádio Nacional de Brasília and the reconstruction began on April of the same year. The reconstruction involves dismantling the lower tier and retaining the upper tier into the new rectangular bowl, and reducing the size of the playing field so that the stadium can be a football-specific stadium.

10. Arena das Dunas or Dunas Arena

The Arena das Dunas or Dunas Arena (lit. "Dunes Arena") is a football stadium designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport) and that its construction will start in January 2011 to host football matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil. Is being built in the city of Natal in the capital of Rio Grande do Norte Brazilian state. The stadium is due to be built in place of the Machadão stadium the Machadinho gym, whose buildings will be demolished in 2011.
The stadium is going to be located by the Senador Salgado Filho Avenue (BR-101 highway), a multi-lane road already served by the Complexo Viário do Quarto Centenário (Fourth Centennial Complex road). The project was one of the most praised by inspectors from FIFA.

11. Vivaldao or Arena de Amazonia

Estádio Vivaldo Lima, usually known by its nickname Vivaldão, was a multi-purpose stadium in Manaus, Brazil. It was formerly used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 43,000, with 31,000 seats. It was built between 1958 and 1970. The Vivaldão was owned by the government of Amazonas state. The stadium was named after Vivaldo Lima, who was the founder of Nacional Fast Clube and it was the home ground of América Futebol Clube (AM), Nacional Futebol Clube and Atlético Rio Negro Clube.

On May 31, 2009, Manaus was chosen as one of the host cities of World Cup 2014. The city's project included the demolition of the current stadium, which will give rise to the Arena Amazonia, which will have capacity for 47,000 people. The stadium was closed on March 19, 2010, The opening day of the foundation stone of the new arena. For nearly four months was made to withdraw any material that could be salvaged, such as seats, turnstiles and floodlights, which were donated to the stadium from the state. After the withdrawal of all this stuff started on July 12, 2010 the demolition of the structure of the old Vivaldão, scheduled for completion in October this year, in November to begin building the new stadium, whose works are scheduled to end in December 2012, The time the city also receive the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013. About $580,000,000 will be invested in the construction of the new stadium, which will also have an area of sport and recreation and a shopping mall. The idea is that the site is used seven days a week and combines sports and leisure.

12. Arena da Baixada

Arena da Baixada is the stadium in the city of Curitiba which will host matches of the World Cup2014.Its an indoor arena inaugurated on June 6, 1914 in Água Verde neighborhood, Curitiba, Paraná, with a maximum capacity of 25,180 people.
On May 31 2009, the stadium was designated by FIFA as one of the match sites in the Brazil 2014 World Cup Brazil 2014 venues unveiled. The Stadium is thus undergoing expansion in order to host over 40,000.

The lateral side which today is incomplete will be finished, bringing the stadium closer to an Arena. Capacity will be increased from current 25,400 seats to 41,375 seats. Two parking loots will be built, one inside the stadium fitting 1,908 vehicles and one outside the stadium fitting 7,500 vehicles. The restaurants and commercial sectors will be expanded.
Arena da Baixada is one of the three private stadiums to host matches of the Cup 2014 (the other ones are Beira-Rio and Morumbi). Because the stadium is private, the Governments (Federal, State and city) are less willing to inject public money to carry out the necessary works; this report of March 5th informs that, according to the managers of Atletico, works in the stadium will start in 2011 or, at the earliest, after the World Cup 2010 is finished.